Operation Safe Treat: sex offender arrested for porn on cell phone

TUCSON- It's a fun and frightful night, full of jack-o-lanterns and creative costumes.

But across Pima County Thursday night, it wasn't just the trick-or-treaters knocking on doors.

Every year the U.S. Marshals team up with Pima County Probation Officers to check in on registered sex offenders. "We just want to make sure the children are staying safe and these individuals aren't preying on children who are just out to have a good night," Deputy Jordan Tefft says.

Thursday night the group headed to about 100 homes. They make sure sex offenders are complying with the rules of their release. On Halloween they also make sure the sex offenders aren't handing out candy, or keeping any lights on outside their homes.

"I think it's a good idea for the safety of the children," says Parent Rosemary Muniz, who lives near Los Reales Road, west of I-10. "We have a lot of kids around here, and there are a bunch of elementary schools."

Operation Safe Treat started on October 29, with Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers targeting fugitive sex offenders and child predators with outstanding arrest warrants. A total of 76 arrest warrants were cleared during the operation.

One of those arrests happened in Tucson. Mohomad Packeer, 32, placed an ad on Craig's List expressing his desire to have sex with girls of any age. Undercover detectives with the Tucson Police Department responded to the ad posing as a 14-year old girl.

The entire operation is a big comfort to parents, who say gone are the days when children can trick-or-treat safely by themselves. "It's just really scary because you hear so much about these kidnappings, abductions and missing children," Grandparent Yolanda Citron says.

As of 10pm Halloween night, there had been one arrest made. Deputy Daniel Levya tells News 4 Tucson one team found pornography on a registered sex offender's cell phone. That person was taken into custody.